Michigan's Assistive Technology Program
Assistive
Technology Connections
Vol. 7, No. 6, August 2006
In This Issue:
- Calendar
- Technology helps people who are deaf, blind enjoy movies in theaters
- National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) - Final Regulations:
- CapTel Now Available in Michigan!
- Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students With Disabilities
- A guide to the computer-related products
- Subscription Information
Calendar:
- See http://www.copower.org/At/awaretrain.htm
for Training and Awareness offered by the AT Program's subcontractors!
- August 18-20, 2006 Abilities Expo Metro Detroit Rock Financial Showplace
Novi, MI for information see: http://det.abilitiesexpo.com/
Covering the expo, TV personality, Roger McCarville (www.disabilitiestoday.com).September
14, Action Day 2006 Conference, Celebrating Independence, Northern Michigan
University, Marquette MI. A conference for people with disabilities,
their families, friends, advocates and the people that work with them.
Co-hosted by Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service and Superior
Alliance for Independent Living. For more information, call 906-228-5744
or 800-379-7245.
- June 15 Adaptive Paddling Instructor Workshop - Early Registration:
$140.00 Instructor Workshop will be held September 14 through 17th.
The course brings together certified instructors, recreational paddlers,
and people with physical disabilities with the goal of further promoting
canoeing and kayaking for paddlers with disabilities. Adults with physical
disabilities who want to learn to paddle are encouraged register for
FREE as Student Participants on September 16 & 17. For more info
and to register contact Karen Schlicher, Bay Cliff Health Camp 906.345.9314.
http://www.baycliff.org/adapt.php or the Sea Kayak Specialists website
at http://www.seakayakspecialists.com/.
- September 18-19, 2006 The Job Accommodation Network (JAN), the nation's
foremost provider of workplace accommodation information and technical
assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), will unite
JAN's Fifth Annual Conference, Empowering Employers to Build an Inclusive
Workforce at the Hilton Boston Logan Airport. For more information:
http://conference.jan.wvu.edu
Contact: conference@jan.wvu.edu
Phone: 800-526-7234 (V/TTY)
- September 19 & 20, 2006 Statewide Person Centered Planning conference
Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo. Community Connection is working with
this conference to include presentations and displays of Assistive Technology.
For more information, please contact Kathy Ellis Community Connections
of SW Michigan 269-925-6422 kellis@match.org.
- October 19-21, 2006 Closing the Gap, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pre
conference: October 17-18, 2006. For registration and information: http://www.closingthegap.com/ctg2/registration2006/index.lasso.
- November 7 - 10, 2006: Accessing Higher Ground Conference: Assistive
Technology and Accessible Media in Higher Education University of Colorado
- Boulder Campus For conference registration and general information,
please visit: http://www.colorado.edu/ATconference.
- November 8, 2006 Assistive Technology Conference, Double Tree Hotel
in Dearborn United Cerebral Palsy of Metro Detroit 248/557-5070 http://www.ucpdetroit.org
Technology helps people who are deaf, blind enjoy movies in theaters:
See the article in the Lansing State Journal about successful advocacy efforts to include captioning and audio description using "MoPix" technology at Celebration Cinema! Go to http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage and enter search phrase: "Technology helps deaf, blind enjoy movies in theaters" This article was published on July 27th.
For additional resources about "MoPix", see the following web pages: http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/ and http://www.bridges4kids.org/articles/6-03/WGBH6-11-03.html.
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) - Final Regulations:
The purpose of the NIMAS is to help increase the availability and timely delivery of print instructional materials in accessible formats for blind or other persons with print disabilities in elementary schools and secondary schools. The Secretary establishes the NIMAS by amending the regulations governing the Assistance to States for Education of Children with Disabilities Program in 34 CFR part 300 to include an appendix that sets forth the technical elements and specifications for the standard. The regulations and the standard are effective August 18, 2006. Resources: NIMAS Development and Technical Assistance Center - http://nimas.cast.org/index.html
CapTel Now Available in Michigan!
CapTel is a special telephone service that allows a person with hearing loss to talk on the telephone and listen to the other party, while real-time captions are displayed on the phone. CapTel service became available in Michigan in July 2006. The service is being phased in, with a limited number of new users each month. For a limited time, Michigan residents can receive a CapTel phone for $99.
For more about CapTel see: http://www.captionedtelephone.com/ or call the Division on Deaf and Hard of Hearing at: 517-335-6004 The application for a CapTel phone is on the web at: http://www.michdhh.org/news/ann_200601.html#ann014.
Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing Students With Disabilities:
The U.S. Department of Education has released the Tool Kit on Teaching
and Assessing Students With Disabilities, a collaborative effort of the
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), to assist states
in raising the achievement of all students with disabilities. The Tool
Kit provides up-to-date guidance on designing and implementing high-quality
assessments for students with disabilities. It also includes a set of
technical assistance products that offer practical, research-based approaches
to the challenges schools are facing in the areas of assessment,
instruction, behavioral interventions and use of accommodations for students
with disabilities. Materials in the Tool Kit can be found at:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers.
A guide to the computer-related products:
This directory of computer-related products for children and adults
with disabilities includes listings of hardware, software, producers,
state and local assistive technology (AT) centers, and other organizations.
Each product description includes the types of
disability for which the product is intended, its skill level, and its
price. $16.95 + postage and handling from Closing the Gap, PO Box 68,
Henderson, MN 56044; phone 507-248-3294; fax 507-248-3810; e-mail, info@closingthegap.com,
http://www.closingthegap.com.
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